Formal Start of APEC 2004 Hosted by Chile: Impact of Free Trade Agreements on APEC Goals on the Agenda
With the start of the 2004 APEC Year, the Chair of Senior Officials Meetings, Ricardo A. Lagos, said he expects the issue of the rising number of free trade agreements (FTAs) will become a permanent fixture on the APEC agenda.
The first formal meeting of APEC Senior Officials begins this morning in Santiago, Chile, where Senior Officials will lay the groundwork for the year ahead.
Mr. Lagos said the spread of free trade agreements and regional trade agreements (RTAs) has led to a call by the APEC Business Advisory Council for APEC to take closer look at the agreements.
"The business community has called on APEC to consider the impact of free trade agreements on APEC´s stated free trade and investment goals," Mr. Lagos said.
"As the first formal meeting of APEC Senior Officials gets underway I anticipate there will be support for APEC to establish a policy dialogue on FTAs and RTAs. This policy dialogue would most likely be tasked with increasing transparency and awareness of how these agreements impact on the regional economy.
"FTAs and RTAs have become an important tool for economies in opening their markets and expanding trade and investment opportunities. They are here to stay and it is important that APEC as a forum takes this opportunity to establish a greater understanding of their relevance to the APEC process."
Other key APEC issues for 2004 APEC Year include the progression of the current round of WTO negotiations, APEC's ongoing Counter Terrorism Agenda and preparations for the mid-term review of APEC's free trade progress.
The 2004 APEC year will see more than one hundred APEC projects launched around the Asia-Pacific Region. The year will also feature ten Ministerial Meetings in Chile, Indonesia, New Zealand and the Philippines and conclude with the APEC Leaders' Meeting in Santiago this November.
Following the APEC Senior Officials meeting today in Santiago, the Secure Trade in the APEC Region (STAR) Conference will take place in Viña del Mar, Chile, on March 5-6. The STAR Conference brings government and business leaders together to address joint counter terrorism and trade concerns.